Search

New Environics poll shows construction community can't be complacent, must get voters out

VANCOUVER, May 5 /CNW/ - An Environics poll released yesterday shows the
BC Liberals with an 11 per cent lead over the NDP, but that margin has the
Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA) of BC and the
Canadian Home Builders' Association of British Columbia (CHBA BC) rallying
everyone touched by construction in BC to ensure voters get out to the polls
to stop the possibility of an NDP win.
"If the NDP win, they have promised to bring back policies that will
destroy the competitiveness of BC's construction sector, so even with this
lead in today's poll, we cannot be complacent," says ICBA President Philip
Hochstein. The poll was sponsored by ICBA, and results released today show
that 47% of voters support the Liberals, with 36% of voters supporting the
NDP, 12% for the Green Party, and 16% undecided.
"The NDP platform shows their hostility to the interests of home builders
and home buyers, by proposing significant re-regulation that would
disadvantage independent construction companies and raise prices across the
board," says Tim Kasten, President of CHBA BC. "Our industry has worked
collaboratively to build a strong industry training system in recent years,
but the NDP is proposing to undermine these improvements in one fell swoop. We
can't stand by and let that happen."
With the NDP platform demonstrating a continued willingness to sacrifice
economic logic and the greater good to the interests of big labour, Hochstein
and Kasten are urging anyone involved in construction, home building or home
buying to rally their friends, family and colleagues to ensure voter turnout
is high on May 12th.
"The last time the NDP were in charge, they directly attacked
independent, family-owned construction businesses with policies like
union-only hiring, pension suspension legislation, and badly hurt the
economy," added Kasten. "Carole James and the NDP are the wrong party and
wrong leader at the wrong time, and we have to be sure voters who agree with
that get out to the polls."
ICBA (www.icba.ca) represents family owned construction businesses across
British Columbia.
CHBA BC (www.chbabc.org) is made up of 1,745 members employing thousands
of workers in BC's residential construction industry.